Man burned beyond recognition in fatal Loving tank battery fire
Adrian C Hedden, Carlsbad Current-Argus
July 19, 2018
(Photo: DeJanay Booth/Current-Argus)
A man killed in a tank battery explosion Wednesday near Loving was so badly burned he could not be identified after police found his body.
The deceased oilfield worker died when the facility owned by WPX Energy ignited at about 12:45 p.m. in an area off U.S. Refinery Road.
Another man was injured and treated for burns, read a news release from WPX.
When deputies arrived at the scene, they found the facility completely engulfed in flames and evacuated the site, according to the release.
During the Sheriff’s Office’s initial investigation, the deceased could not be located.
As the scene was processed, his body was found but was unrecognizable, said Lt. Matt Hutchinson with the Sheriff’s Office.
“As a result of the injuries, physical identification is not possible,” Hutchinson said. “That kind of ID will be done at the Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI) level.”
Such a report, he said, could take several weeks to be processed.
The Sheriff’s Office’s Detectives Division is taking the lead on investigating the cause of death, Hutchinson said.
“The oil and gas industry is booming right now,” he said. “Unfortunately, incidents like this do occur. The oilfield can be a very dangerous job.”
The blaze was extinguished as of Wednesday night, read a WPX news release, with multiple Eddy County agencies assisting with fire suppression and emergency response.
Eleven tanks were involved in the fire. Eight held produced water. Two held residue oil and another held an oil separation unit.
All oil wells that feed into the facility from remote sites were shut in on Wednesday and remained so overnight.
“Everyone involved has a heavy heart today,” said WPX spokesman Kelly Swan. “The oil patch is a close-knit community where people care deeply about each other and the important work they do.”
The facility was released by authorities by noon Thursday, Swan said, and local WPX staff began clean up at the site while monitoring soil conditions around the area.
WPX is also working with local agencies and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration to determine the cause of the fire.
The facility holds a saltwater disposal well for oilfield byproduct from production operations, with supporting equipment on the surface such as injection pumps and storage tanks.
WPX has 70 employees in New Mexico supporting the company’s operations in the Permian Basin, read the release.